Uploaded May 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Richard Dawkins demonstrates laryngeal nerve of the giraffe, which connects the brain with the larynx (voice box). The obvious path for the nerve to travel is straight from the brain into the neck and into the larynx. If you were designing the animal from scratch, that makes all the sense in the world. In mammals, however, the nerve goes from the brain down past the heart and then to the larynx..and this detour is particularly long in giraffes, making a round trip of up to 16 feet.
The reason why our ancestors had such wiring in the first place is simple: For fish it is the quickest route. However evolution couldn't start afresh with a new design when our fishy ancestors began to evolve a more mammalian-like morphology. It was forced to utilize the already present engineering and had to lengthen the wiring instead of backtracking and reversing the entire process.
scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/06/22/the-laryngeal-nerve-of-the-gir
Neil deGrasse Tyson on Stupid Design: youtube.com/watch?v=YCnGf37iiKU
Dozens of Examples of "Bad Design" in Nature: oolon.awardspace.com/SMOGGM.htm
Test your eye's blind spot: blindspottest.com
Good Design, Bad Design: youtube.com/watch?v=1Mtr3Cum74A
Argument from Poor Design: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_poor_design
Frequently asked questions about evolution: pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/faq/index.html
Evolution: Fact and Theory: actionbioscience.org/evolution/lenski.html
101 Reasons Why Evolution is True: ideonexus.com/2012/02/12/101-reasons-why-evolution-is-true
Evidence of Common Descent: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_common_descent
Human Evolution Database: exposingreligionblog.tumblr.com/post/29779540482
Evolution 101: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_01
8 examples of evolution in action: listverse.com/2011/11/19/8-examples-of-evolution-in-action
15 Evolutionary Gems: nature.com/nature/newspdf/evolutiongems.pdf
Evolution teaching resources: evoled.org/Lessons/evidence.htm
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. All copyrighted materials contained herein belong to their respective copyright holders, I do not claim ownership over any of these materials. In no way do I benefit either financially or otherwise from this video.
Richard Dawkins demonstrates laryngeal nerve of the giraffe, which connects the brain with the larynx (voice box). The obvious path for the nerve to travel is straight from the brain into the neck and into the larynx. If you were designing the animal from scratch, that makes all the sense in the world. In mammals, however, the nerve goes from the brain down past the heart and then to the larynx..and this detour is particularly long in giraffes, making a round trip of up to 16 feet.
The reason why our ancestors had such wiring in the first place is simple: For fish it is the quickest route. However evolution couldn't start afresh with a new design when our fishy ancestors began to evolve a more mammalian-like morphology. It was forced to utilize the already present engineering and had to lengthen the wiring instead of backtracking and reversing the entire process.
scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/06/22/the-laryngeal-nerve-of-the-gir
Neil deGrasse Tyson on Stupid Design: youtube.com/watch?v=YCnGf37iiKU
Dozens of Examples of "Bad Design" in Nature: oolon.awardspace.com/SMOGGM.htm
Test your eye's blind spot: blindspottest.com
Good Design, Bad Design: youtube.com/watch?v=1Mtr3Cum74A
Argument from Poor Design: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_poor_design
Frequently asked questions about evolution: pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/faq/index.html
Evolution: Fact and Theory: actionbioscience.org/evolution/lenski.html
101 Reasons Why Evolution is True: ideonexus.com/2012/02/12/101-reasons-why-evolution-is-true
Evidence of Common Descent: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_common_descent
Human Evolution Database: exposingreligionblog.tumblr.com/post/29779540482
Evolution 101: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_01
8 examples of evolution in action: listverse.com/2011/11/19/8-examples-of-evolution-in-action
15 Evolutionary Gems: nature.com/nature/newspdf/evolutiongems.pdf
Evolution teaching resources: evoled.org/Lessons/evidence.htm
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. All copyrighted materials contained herein belong to their respective copyright holders, I do not claim ownership over any of these materials. In no way do I benefit either financially or otherwise from this video.
